Massachusetts – from www.boston.com – A lawyer for a Waltham sex shop said on Thursday that the store will put up curtains and opaque window film to block views of the adult merchandise that triggered complaints from Moody Street visitors.
City councilor Robert Logan said on Wednesday that he had fielded calls from people upset that Amazing.net’s saucy wares were visible from the street. He said that city officials planned to meet with the store’s representatives.
On Thursday afternoon, Lesley Rich, general counsel for the corporation that owns Amazing.net, said that by Friday, the store will put up curtains in the windows and opaque film on the front door to block views.
Moody Street houses two sex shops among the numerous eateries and ethnic markets that have earned the destination distinction as Restaurant Row. Residents have accepted the adult novelty shops that predate Waltham’s downtown renaissance, said Logan.
But the balance between acceptance and indignation was tipped during a recent renovation at Amazing.net, which sits at the top of Moody Street. The store replaced its front façade with clear glass, allowing passers-by to see the store’s merchandise, said Logan.
“We haven’t bothered these people and they’ve been there for 20 years. No one’s looking to shut the place down,” said Logan on Wednesday. But the store must comply with a city ordinance that requires sexually explicit merchandise not be visible from the street, he said.
“If you want to take your family to dinner on Restaurant Row, you don’t want your 9-year-old daughter to see those things,” said Logan.
Logan said that more than a decade ago, the city passed a zoning ordinance regulating shops that sell sexually explicit items to industrial areas. But Avenue Libraries–Amazing.net’s predecessor—and the other Moody Street shop, Lifestyles Adult Boutique, were grandfathered in under state law and allowed to keep operating at their locations.
No other stores selling sexually explicit items can set up shop on Moody Street, and the stores wouldn’t be able to operate on the street if they moved even a door down, said Logan.
The city also has an ordinance restricting visibility to sexually explicit merchandise. This has never been a problem at either Moody Street shop until recently, said Logan. Before Amazing’s renovation, the store’s windows were plastered with posters, he said.